What does it take to get a struggling state back on its feet? According to Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, it starts with two things: letting traders breathe and making farmers safe again.
The former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice shared his thoughts on Benue State’s troubles on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm last night. His message was simple: governance is not about squeezing more money out of people who already have little. It is about creating the conditions for them to produce, trade and prosper.
Lower the Taxes, Collect More
Aondoakaa’s take on taxes was blunt. “When you lower taxes, people pay more; when you hike taxes, businesses run away,” he said.
His fix? One payment, one point. No more paying levy after levy at checkpoint after checkpoint. Here is how he explained it:
“If you buy something in Jato-Aka and the local government issues you a tax receipt after payment, you should be free to transport those goods out of Benue without being subjected to another tax on the same goods by the state government.”
In other words, if a trader has already paid, let them move on.
No Security, No Economy
Then he connected the dots between safety and money, and the picture was not pretty.
“Benue is an agrarian state. Our economy depends heavily on farmers, traders, transporters and the thousands of people whose livelihoods revolve around agricultural production and commerce.”
When insecurity chases farmers off their land, he said, the damage does not stop at the farm gate. Families are displaced, markets go quiet, trade shrinks and so does government revenue.
His example was the Zaki-Biam yam market. It once loaded about 200 trucks of yams a day. Now, he said, it struggles to load even 10.
Everything Is Connected
The bigger point is that none of this works in isolation. Farmers cannot farm from displaced persons’ camps. Traders will not do business in communities they are afraid to visit. And government cannot collect revenue from abandoned farms and empty markets.
For Aondoakaa, the goal is not simply to collect more money. It is to build an environment where business can thrive, revenue collection is transparent, and government earns more because its people are doing more.
His wish list for Benue is clear: restore security, reopen farming communities, revive markets, welcome investment and build a revenue system that rewards enterprise instead of punishing it.
The task, in his words and in spirit, is not just to collect more. It is to get Benue working again.
